![\"photo-14\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/armed\/files\/2014\/03\/photo-14.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>On February 18,\u00a0John Bellinger<\/a>, former Legal Advisor to State Department and current partner at Arnold & Porter,\u00a0discussed the current legal challenges to the Administration related to evolving national security threats and international relations. The event was generously sponsored by Arnold & Porter’s Washington, D.C. office<\/a>. \u00a0By inviting Mr. Bellinger, AFA,\u00a0in partnership with\u00a0NSJ<\/a>,\u00a0NSLA<\/a>, and\u00a0LIDS<\/a>, aimed to highlight the complexity and consequences of international relations and national security issues to how the law is best written and implemented in response to rapidly changing international dynamics.<\/p>\n\n
[Photo by Stephanie Mitchell, Harvard Staff Photographer.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This semester has been an exciting one for HLS Armed Forces Association (AFA)! 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<\/a>On February 27, AFA was proud to host Shabana Basij-Rasikh<\/a> for her lecture on School of Leadership Afghanistan<\/a> (SOLA), Afghanistan’s first all-girls boarding school. \u00a0Shabana discussed how she plans to use SOLA to instill civic duty in her students and prevent brain drain in Afghanistan. She also discussed the real and complex challenges of waging war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda by waging peace on behalf of Afghan women and civil society.\u00a0This event was made possible by\u00a0WLA Women’s Venture Fund<\/a>, LIDS<\/a>,\u00a0and Darren Gardner, who is an AFA member (JD Class 2014) and Shabana’s friend and colleague.<\/p>\n
\n![\"IMAG0610\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/armed\/files\/2014\/03\/IMAG0610-300x169.jpg?resize=270%2C152&ssl=1\")
<\/a>On March 3, 2014, Allyson Robinson, who formerly served as head of OutServe-SLDN and as an Army Captain, spoke to students and community members about the “three futures” of transgender Americans and military service\u00a0at the first joint event at HLS sponsored by Lambda<\/a> and AFA. \u00a0Ms. Robinson discussed trans\u00a0people’s experiences in the military and described her work with trans members of our armed forces and veterans. She also informed the audience of the considerable but surmountable obstacles to ensuring full and safe participation for transgender individuals in the U.S. armed forces. This event was sponsored by the HLS Milbank Tweed Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n![\"HLS](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/armed\/files\/2014\/03\/Born-and-I-Womens-Day-300x199.jpg?resize=243%2C161&ssl=1\")
<\/a>On March 8, AFA was featured<\/a> in\u00a0The Harvard Gazette in a piece on the HLS International Women\u2019s Day exhibit, which was organized by WLA<\/a> and LIDS<\/a>. The piece features Maria Parra-Orlandoni, AFA’s co-President and LIDS co-Vice President of Communications, who nominated Dana H. Born<\/a>, a lecturer at the Kennedy School and retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, for the exhibit.<\/p>\n